I thought it would be a good idea to start a thread on our build too. We have a 14 X 32 m block and have decided to build a double storey, 5 bedroom home. We really started this process 2 years ago. We bought the land in 2016 and it was titled in July 2017. But now we are full steam ahead. We considered Marbella by Porter Davis, Vantage by Metricon, Hampshire by Metricon, Sovereign by Metricon, Glendale by Metricon and Granada by Carlisle but eventually decided and signed on with the Zanzibar (45) by Metricon.

We loved the floorplan as there were no structural changes to be made. Every requirement we had was met with this floorplan. This will be our first build and are anxious and excited about the future.

We absolutely love the floorplan with the master suite on the bottom floor as this not only provides easy access to a bedroom in case of an injury or sickness. We decided to put a normal flush panel door from the pantry to the laundry to allow for extra space and storage. The positioning of the powder room is excellent as it is right in the middle of the sitting and family/dining/kitchen spaces (which are going to be used majority of the time).

The WIR's of the top floor bedrooms was also a plus as it is a fantastic storage unit. The alcoves of each bedroom except bedroom 2 was also a major incentive as it allows for everything to be packed away neatly and for there to be no intrusions on the bedroom space. Bedroom 2 will be left as a study/spare bedroom as there is no alcove.

Overall, we found this plan to include many storage places and also allowed for items to be put away nice and neatly. This was such a necessity for us as it gets rid of a clustered look.

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Last edited by Zanzibar_45 on Sep 22, 2018 10:45 pm, edited 2 times in total.

Congrats.I remember the Zanzibar @ Craigieburn had a look at it 6 months ago. Loved the modern design.What stage are you up to? Done selections? You will enjoy the process.

Thank you! Yep, that's exactly what we loved too! We are still at the early stages and still doing the paperwork. We had a bit of a delay as all our preparations were done for the wrong block. Hopefully, so far so goo and we appear to have a great consultant!!

Congrats.I remember the Zanzibar @ Craigieburn had a look at it 6 months ago. Loved the modern design.What stage are you up to? Done selections? You will enjoy the process.

Thank you! Yep, that's exactly what we loved too! We are still at the early stages and still doing the paperwork. We had a bit of a delay as all our preparations were done for the wrong block. Hopefully, so far so goo and we appear to have a great consultant!!

Oh I love this plan I can’t wait to see it being built. They released this design after we signed up and to cancel and swap to this design would’ve costed us a fortune so we soldiered on with original choice. (With no regrets) So best of luck with your journey and look forward to the progress

It has been a while since I updated, but I'm back! Since my last post, we have completed all our appointments, signed the contracts and are now awaiting council approval. Hopefully, we can be on site soon but fingers crossed!

I have attached a couple of pictures of our selections down below. We really wanted this house to be light and bright, but cozy and comfortable too. The whole idea behind this house was to create an atmosphere that felt crisp and clean but did not detract from the familial element that an inhabited house should have.

We really wanted the kitchen to be a focal point of the home. It is where we spend most of our time when it is just our family and when we are hosting. We decided to splurge and use 'Calacatta Gold' for our island bench and side panels of the island bench. We decided to use 'Yukon' for the rest of the benchtops as it is much more subtle and allows the island bench to be the feature.

Initially, we chose this grey patterned splashback but it just felt so out of place in the kitchen. So, we visited Beaumont Tiles, the main tile supplier of Metricon, and were able to pick out a design that we liked and felt matched the colour scheme of the kitchen. We decided with the 'Bloom Beige Blend Gloss' that has also been attached.

For our tiles, we were initially quoted $18,000 for the bottom floor, excluding bathrooms! However, after speaking with a few of our friends who have also built homes, we decided to outsource and were quoted at $10,000 and even given a $500 discount which brought the price down to $9,500 (supply + installation). At first, we were hesitant as it honestly sounded too good to be true, but testimonials from our friends helped to rid us of any fear.

We decided to remove carpet from Metricon and outsource as well! We were quoted at $8,000 for carpet to the first floor, but through the same company we were able to have laminate to the entire first floor for $1,500 (supply + installation)! Ultimately, we saved approximately $15,000 by outsourcing!! If there's a lesson to be taught here, it is that if you do a bit of research and talk to some people then you can save so much money!!

For bathrooms, we decided to go with full wall tiling for Powder 1, and 2.1m wall tiling for the rest of the bathrooms. We picked the 'Horizon Crema' for the wall tiles and the tile on top of that one for the floors - I can't see the name :C.

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For externals, we chose 'Coastal Stone' from the brick. We decided against upgrading the brick as we wanted to have the front of the house rendered. The lighter colour, 'Hog Bristle Quarter' is the colour we chose for the main render and the darker colour, 'Self-Destruct' was chosen for the feature render. Hog Bristle Quarter appears white in the picture, but in reality it is a bit more towards cream. For the garage door, we decided against going for a timber looking garage door and instead went with 'Paperbark'. We decided against going for a timber-looking garage door as we have masonry on a pier of the house and wanted this to be the focal point. Unfortunately, this masonry cost an eye-watering amount but we decided to go ahead as we loved it way too much!

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Well, I guess that's all for now!! Hopefully, everything we picked matches and achieves the look we are aiming for. It was so hard to visualise everything together but we tried our best! I would love to hear all your thoughts on this as well as selections that you chose!

Great selections. Love the calacata gold bench. What is the thickness of the island bench top?I would have gone calacata bench top if I was not following the display homes colour scheme.If your saving money with the tiles, why not go to the ceiling with the tiles rather than 2.1m?I went all the way up to the ceiling with my tiles(in the en suites) as I will never have to paint a wall after that.And floor to ceiling tiles look very opulent.I noticed with Metricon in most designer homes tiles were 2.1m, but signature homes had them to the ceiling.I am doing carpet after handover too, as I am sure I can get a better deal from a local carpet company.

With regards to the bathroom tiling it is one of our biggest regrets now. At the time, we thought it wasn't necessary as 2.1m was enough and we were a bit freaked out over costs as we had splurged and overspent quite a bit. But now, we really feel like the extra bit of money for ceiling tiling would've have been worth it. It would have overall bettered the entire look of the home.

Finally! We are finally on site and have also employed Darbecca for use throughout the build. We have decided to use Darbecca for the following stages: - Pre pour and steel inspections - Slab and frame inspections - Pre plaster - Final

It's been a while since I last posted but there has been quite a lot of construction going on. We got the slab done and the frame is nearing completion too! The windows have mostly been placed in the ground floor and not yet on the top floor. It's been great to see everything come together and actually be able to see the bones of the house. I honestly didn't expect it to go by so quick but it's been a great surprise as every day I go to check on the house, something new has been added. I have also enlisted Darbecca throughout the build and so far have only had the pre-pour inspection. The slab and frame inspection is going to be done later this week.

How long did it take for your house build? I would love to know to get a rough idea.

With regards to the bathroom tiling it is one of our biggest regrets now. At the time, we thought it wasn't necessary as 2.1m was enough and we were a bit freaked out over costs as we had splurged and overspent quite a bit. But now, we really feel like the extra bit of money for ceiling tiling would've have been worth it. It would have overall bettered the entire look of the home.

Hi Zanzibar, your selections look great, and I'm looking forward to watching your build progress. If you still decide you would have preferred tiling to ceiling in wet areas once you have moved in, maybe you could get a tiler to finish the job for you? The only thing you need to watch out for is slight variations in the tile colours - as they will be from different batches.

With regards to the bathroom tiling it is one of our biggest regrets now. At the time, we thought it wasn't necessary as 2.1m was enough and we were a bit freaked out over costs as we had splurged and overspent quite a bit. But now, we really feel like the extra bit of money for ceiling tiling would've have been worth it. It would have overall bettered the entire look of the home.

Hi Zanzibar, your selections look great, and I'm looking forward to watching your build progress. If you still decide you would have preferred tiling to ceiling in wet areas once you have moved in, maybe you could get a tiler to finish the job for you? The only thing you need to watch out for is slight variations in the tile colours - as they will be from different batches.

Hi shokel1975,

Thank you. I think what you have suggested is really the best solution and plan on doing something about it as soon as I get the keys as I probably won't be moving in until the tiles are done as well.

Hi Zanzibar,How is your experience with pre-pour inspection? Normally how many days does it take from site start to pre-pour insp? My site-start will be on the 18th Oct and planning for pre-pour insp. Did you find any issues from Metricon side while organising this, I mean co-ordinating the entire thing.

Were there any things that came up inspection requiring a fixing. Thanks in advance.

First of all, congratulations on site start! I look forward to seeing your build journey! My site start commenced on the 5th of September and the pre-pour inspection occurred on the 13th of September. It was about a week from site start.

You should notify your site coordinator through email about your intention to use Darbecca throughout your build and specify which stages you plan to use them for. You should also contact Darbecca about using them and they will most likely offer you a package where the stages are cheaper than the usual prices.

My experience with Metricon (so far) has not been bad. I have had a cooperative team who do not oppose the use of Darbecca and organising has been quite seamless (touch wood). My advice is to make sure that you are on top of everything, take initiative and always in active contact with both Darbecca and Metricon.

Once the payment has been received by Darbecca, the inspector will email you a report which then you should forward onto your SC and ask them to correct all the mistakes and send you photographic evidence. Just a tip, make sure that you have written evidence of everything that you ask for (try to avoid making decisions on phone calls) just in case you require it in the future.

There were some fixings that were required and which were completed, without complaints, by Metricon. For the slab and frame inspection, there were quite a lot more to be fixed and Darbecca recommended a re-inspection to be done to ensure everything is completed and also because the frame is a vital part of the home.

Thanks for your detailed reply and time. It helps me a lot. Yes it is exciting time, did heaps of upgrades and modeled the kitchen like Balamaine 51. Hoping it will turnout as close to that and as I visualied .